


we've never met but, can we have a coffee or something?

by notallbees



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Crushes, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/pseuds/notallbees
Summary: Dimitri sat in the waiting room at the Golden Deer Physio clinic, staring at the front cover of a dogeared women's magazine. His doctors had cleared him of any imminent need for surgery, depending on how well he responded to physiotherapy, which was a relief. Dimitri bounced his uninjured knee as he sat waiting, glancing around at the artwork on the walls.After a few minutes, a man stepped into the waiting room holding a clipboard. He wore a yellow polo shirt displaying the name of the practice, and little black shorts. His legs were very distracting. "Dimitri Blad—uh, Blay—?""Blaiddyd," Dimitri corrected, reaching for his crutches and standing awkwardly. "Ah—it's Fearghan.""It's lovely," the therapist said, beaming at him.Dimitri falls in love with his physiotherapist.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 241





	we've never met but, can we have a coffee or something?

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday polo!!! thank you for being a kind, wonderful, inspiring presence in 3h fandom. still looking forward to making a kickass story with you :3c
> 
>   
> for those of u who don't know me i've done nothing with my life for 4 years except [listen to lo-fi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XZJ5mD6nSU). please don't look too closely at my medical knowledge, i've had a lot of physio in my life but am not in any way a practitioner.

Dimitri sat in the waiting room at the Golden Deer Physio clinic, staring at the front cover of a dogeared women's magazine. His doctors had cleared him of any imminent need for surgery, depending on how well he responded to physiotherapy, which was a relief. Dimitri bounced his uninjured knee as he sat waiting, glancing around at the artwork on the walls. 

After a few minutes, a man stepped into the waiting room holding a clipboard. He wore a yellow polo shirt displaying the name of the practice, and little black shorts. His legs were very distracting. "Dimitri Blad—uh, Blay—?"

"Blaiddyd," Dimitri corrected, reaching for his crutches and standing awkwardly. "Ah—it's Fearghan."

"It's lovely," the therapist said, beaming at him. He had a very, very pretty smile. Dimitri's already weak knees threatened to give way entirely. "I'm Claude," said the therapist. "Ready to get started?"

Dimitri nodded. 

"First time in physio?" Claude asked as he ushered Dimitri into the treatment room. He had a soft, foreign accent that Dimitri couldn't place, and was obviously in _very_ good shape. He gestured for Dimitri to sit, and perched himself on the edge of the treatment table.

"Ah—no," Dimitri said, lowering himself into the chair. "I had some treatment a few years ago."

Claude grinned at him. "Well, it shouldn't have changed too much then. Why don't you tell me what you're hoping to get out of working with me?"

"Uh." Dimitri licked his bottom lip. "Can you fix me?"

Claude laughed. "Well, I can certainly help. But you're going to have to do a lot of work yourself, too, alright? We need to be partners on this."

Dimitri nodded. "Partners."

"Excellent." Claude patted the clipboard on his knee. "So I'm going to discuss your history with you, and talk about the issues you're having at the moment, and then we'll move onto assessing the injury and look at the way you're moving. If it's okay with you, we'll do some soft tissue work too, so that will be me using my hands on you." He held up his hands to demonstrate. They were very pretty too. "Is that alright?"

Dimitri's throat was dry. "A-alright."

"Great. After that, I'll make some recommendations for actions you can take away and work on before the next session." He paused, and smiled at Dimitri again. He had dimples, and his smile made his nose crinkle, drawing attention to the scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. "Is that okay?"

Dimitri stared at him. "What?"

"Why don't you tell me what's brought you in today," Claude said, his eyes sparkling. 

—

By the time Dimitri limped out of the clinic forty-five minutes later, he had a treatment plan, a set of resistance bands, and a crush on his new physio. 

He walked to the corner of the street, where Dedue picked him up a minute later. 

"How did it go?" Dedue rumbled softly, when Dimitri had made himself comfortable in the passenger seat. 

Dimitri thought of Claude's smile, and how it had felt when he placed his warm, dry hands on Dimitri's skin. "F-fine," he said, his ears heating. "Thank you for coming to collect me."

"When is your next appointment?"

"Ah, uh—same time next week," Dimitri replied, smiling at the thought of seeing Claude again. "I have some exercises to do."

Dedue nodded. "Will you need help with that?"

"Maybe. Thanks, Dedue."

"I promised to take care of you."

Dimitri laughed. "I know. I appreciate it."

Dedue smiled at him in the mirror. "You keep smiling. Was your physiotherapist nice?"

Blushing, Dimitri looked away. "He was fine."

"Do you mean that he was adequate, or as Sylvain would say, _fine_?"

Dimitri sank lower in his seat with a groan. "Both."

Dedue's soft laughter warmed him.

—

Dimitri was running late for his next appointment as something urgent had come up at Dedue's job, meaning that he had to beg for a last-minute lift from Felix.

"Did you do all your exercises?" Felix asked crossly as Dimitri climbed awkwardly into the car.

"Yes, Felix."

Felix softened. "Good. I'm not having you lazing around on the bench for months. You need to come back."

"Yes, Felix," Dimitri said again, starting to smile. 

"I'm not putting up with Sylvain as captain forever, his ego's bad enough already."

Dimitri laughed. "Noted. I'll work hard."

"You'd better." Felix glanced at his watch and swore softly. "You're gonna be late."

"I know, sorry."

"Don't apologise to me, apologise to your hot physio."

Dimitri flushed. "W-who told you he was hot?"

Felix snorted. "Why else would you be so desperate to get there?" He smirked. "And I looked up the website when I was figuring out the best route to drive you there. Claude, right?"

Dimitri nodded weakly.

Thankfully, Felix only nodded, sparing him from further comment. Finally they pulled up outside the clinic, and Dimitri clambered out. He'd gotten fairly adept at using his crutches now, though he hoped he wouldn't need to rely on them too much longer. He half expected Claude to be waiting for him when he arrived, but instead he walked in to the sound of raised voices.

"I just thought it would be nice to spruce the place up a bit!"

"First of all, you should consult me before you decide to redecorate, and second of all—"

"It's just a few houseplants, Lorenz, you're being ridiculous."

"Oh, am I? Or perhaps this is just another instance of—"

Dimitri cleared his throat and lifted his voice. "Uh, excuse me!"

The hissed argument fell silent. After a moment, Claude poked his head around the corner. "Dimitri! You made it. Sorry about that, I was just discussing something with my colleague."

"Sorry I'm late."

"Don't be silly," Claude said, smiling and gesturing for him to follow. "Come on, we'll be in the same room as last time."

Claude was, unfortunately, at least as pretty as Dimitri remembered him being, which wasn't really a problem until Claude had finished his assessment and gestured for Dimitri to lie on the treatment table. Dimitri struggled out of his sweatpants and lay back on the table, trying to relax, and not think about how attractive Claude was, or how nice his hands felt.

"Sorry about that nonsense when you walked in," Claude said, as he poured baby oil over Dimitri's knee. "Lorenz is my co-owner, we disagree a lot."

Dimitri swallowed thickly. "That must be hard."

"Yeah," Claude said, laughing under his breath. He ran his hands over Dimitri's thigh, spreading the oil around, then started to massage him with short, fast strokes. "But it keeps things interesting. We used to be in the same dance troupe, so we're used to each other."

"You were a dancer?" Dimitri asked, looking up at him in surprise. 

Claude nodded. "Just relax. I was a ballet dancer." He winked at Dimitri. "Can't you tell?"

"I had no idea," Dimitri said. "You must be very—f-flexible." He groaned as soon as the words were out, lifting both hands to cover his face. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that."

But Claude just burst out laughing, his laughter a little breathless from the effort of working on Dimitri's leg. "It's fine, I am pretty flexible. I teach yoga nowadays too, so…"

Dimitri winced inwardly. "That must be— _ah_!" He broke off, grimacing in pain.

"Mm, it's tight in here," Claude observed, digging his thumb into the side of Dimitri's thigh, just above his knee. "Is this pressure okay?"

Dimitri nodded, doing his best to keep breathing, to stay relaxed. He tried to focus instead on the image of Claude as a dancer, but quickly realised that was a terrible plan, as the thought of Claude in a skimpy leotard and tights was distracting in entirely the wrong way. Dimitri closed his eyes, desperately trying to undo that image and replace it with something boring, something to discourage his semi-hard cock.

Claude patted his shin gently. "Keep breathing for me, there's a good boy."

" _Oh_ ," Dimitri sighed, his breath coming out in a rush, arousal surging through him. There was, of course, no way for Claude to know how much Dimitri enjoyed being praised, particularly by someone so attractive. Even more particularly by someone so attractive who could probably crush Dimitri's head between his thighs.

"You still with me, Dimitri?"

Dimitri gritted his teeth and tried to keep his muscles relaxed. "Yeah, sorry." There was little hope that Claude wouldn't notice how turned on he was, but with any luck, he wouldn't draw attention to it, and Dimitri could crawl away in disgrace to find another physiotherapist. 

"I know it hurts, but I promise it'll feel much better in a few days."

Dimitri nodded tightly.

"So, you play rugby, right? Tell me about your team."

"We, uh—we're just an amateur team, but we're in a league."

Claude smiled at him. "A league? That's impressive!"

Dimitri blushed. "It's not that special, but it's good press for us, because we're an LGBT team."

"Oh yeah?" Claude eyed him, his smile turning sly. "Which one are you?"

Dimitri's eyes widened, and he licked his lips nervously. "I—"

"It's okay," Claude said before he could answer, laughing softly. "I was just teasing, you don't have to—"

"I'm gay," Dimitri said, blinking up at him.

Claude looked momentarily surprised, but then his face softened again and he slipped back to a smile. "Congratulations," he said, and winked. "I'm bi."

"Oh!" Dimitri said, and then Claude did something with his thumb that made him twitch and cry out in pain.

"Sorry," Claude soothed, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the loosened knot. "You're doing well. Almost there."

Dimitri nodded, breathing in and out sharply through his mouth. The upside to the pain meant that his erection had wilted, so he was no longer at risk of embarrassing himself in that manner, though he was still relieved when Claude finally moved away and reached for some tissue paper to wipe the excess oil off Dimitri's leg. 

"There," Claude said, stepping back. "Torture over. How're you feeling?"

Dimitri sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table. His leg still felt shaky and weak as he tested his weight on it, but the tightness was much less, the stiffness in his knee almost gone. "It's much better," he said, smiling up at Claude. "Thank you."

Claude nodded. "Well, we have some work to do yet, but keep up with those stretches and strengthening exercises and we'll have you back to normal in a few weeks."

"I will," Dimitri said, nodding eagerly. 

"Great!" Claude passed Dimitri his crutches, then moved over to the laptop on his desk. "When do you want to come back? It would be good to see you in a week again, if that works for you?"

"Um...same time next week?" Dimitri offered. 

Claude nodded. "Fantastic, I'll look forward to it."

"Me too," Dimitri said, smiling at him. 

—

The next few sessions passed in much the same fashion, while Dimitri did his best to avoid giving away his ever-growing crush. After a few weeks, Dimitri was able to move around without his crutches again, and started going back to the gym to build up the strength in his leg once more. Dedue and Felix took turns accompanying him to the gym and training with him, while Sylvain helped him stretch when they were at home. 

Claude continued to chatter aimlessly at him during their sessions; Dimitri learned that he was from Almyra originally, and that he'd been part of the Derdriu Ducal Ballet Company along with Lorenz. He learned that Claude liked strong tea, long, difficult books, and playing pranks on his co-workers. He also caught Claude and Lorenz exchanging heated words on two separate occasions after the first, and concluded that the two just had a tendency to bicker. 

Claude was kind and easy to talk to, though he also had a penchant for teasing, which he practiced on Dimitri constantly. At the same time, Dimitri found himself opening up to Claude, in a way he hadn't for a long time, and he was touched when Claude began to do the same.

In one particularly grueling session, Claude was distracting him from the pain of his sports massage by talking at him again. "It was kind of like a family," he was saying of his dance company. "You know. You love them, they support you, but they also drive you fucking crazy." 

"Like—you and Lorenz?" Dimitri asked through gritted teeth.

Claude grinned. "Lorenz is an extreme example, but yeah."

Dimitri smiled, thinking of his teammates, and how he got the same sense of companionship around them.

"I say _kind of_ like a family," Claude added, laughing under his breath, "because _everyone_ was sleeping together."

"Ah." Dimitri's cheeks warmed. "It's, uh—it's a bit like that with us, I guess. Not _everyone_ , but—you know."

Claude winked at him. "I can imagine."

Dimitri swallowed. "What about—your real family?"

"Ah, well." Claude's smile was tight and false now; Dimitri wished suddenly that he could take it back. "They don't really...approve of my choices." He glanced up at Dimitri, his smile softening. "How about you?"

"N-no," Dimitri managed. "Nor mine."

Claude's soft eyebrows crumpled, but he didn't speak, only reached out briefly and placed his hand over Dimitri's, where it lay flat on his stomach. Instinctively, Dimitri turned his hand over and interlaced his fingers with Claude's. Claude was still massaging Dimitri's knee with his thumb, grinding it into the tight knot of tissue at the side of his knee, but for several moments they just held one another's gazes, quiet and contemplative. 

The spell was broken by the sudden sound of Lorenz's voice outside the treatment room, welcoming a familiar client into the clinic, and Claude pulled his hand away to return it to Dimitri's leg. 

"So you said a lot of people on your team are involved with each other too?" Claude asked in a conversational tone.

Dimitri nodded, drawing in shallow breaths against the pain. "It's caused one or two problems, we lost a few team members. But things are better now, we have a sort of unspoken agreement about not dating within the team."

"Ah, so no more orgies?"

"No," Dimitri said, laughing. "I'm not sleeping with anyone."

"Oh?" Claude raised an eyebrow, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Realising what he'd said, Dimitri groaned and covered his face, which was quickly turning scarlet. "N-never mind. I don't know why I said that."

Claude laughed softly. "As a physiotherapist, I'm not exactly bound by the same code as your doctor, but it would still be a breach of trust for me to get involved with anyone while they're my patient."

"Please," Dimitri said urgently. " _Please_ forget I said that."

"Hey," Claude murmured. He reached up and gently touched Dimitri's hand. "Dimitri, look at me. No need to be embarrassed, okay?"

Pulling his hands away from his face, Dimitri breathed in sharply, nodding. "Okay."

Claude smiled. "Good boy."

—

By the time his last appointment was approaching, all of his friends and teammates seemed to know about his crush on Claude, and traffic on the clinic's website had probably doubled from all the time his friends apparently spent looking up Claude's picture and then asking Dimitri in a scandalised voice why he hadn't made a move yet. 

"Just invite him to the next match or something," Sylvain said, as he and Dimitri sat watching some terrible reality TV show. 

"I won't even be playing," Dimitri protested.

Sylvain snorted. "Even better. You can hold his hand while you watch the match together."

Dimitri flushed. "I can't hold his hand, he's not my boyfriend."

"Not with that attitude."

"Sylvain—"

"Dimitri."

Dimitri sighed and slumped into him, resting his head on Sylvain's shoulder. 

"I know, buddy," Sylvain said, putting his hand on Dimitri's knee and squeezing gently. "But it's too long since you had your heart broken, it's time to get back on the horse."

—

When Dimitri showed up at his last appointment, his nerves had turned his stomach upside down. He tried to gather his thoughts as he sat waiting, bouncing his knee anxiously. He'd made up his mind to ask Claude out at the end of the appointment, or at least invite him to their match on Saturday, and see where things went from there. He resisted the urge to check his phone; Sylvain and Dedue had both texted him several times with encouragement, but he was worried that if he kept checking it then he would talk himself out of it.

"Dimitri Blaiddyd?"

Dimitri raised his head at the sound of his name, immaculately pronounced by a voice that wasn't Claude's. "Ah—yes?"

"I'm Lorenz. I'm so sorry, but Claude had something urgent to take care of this morning, he asked me to fill in for him."

"O-oh," Dimitri said, his heart sinking as he rose to his feet. "Of course."

"Is that alright?" Lorenz asked, raising one perfect eyebrow at him.

Dimitri forced a smile. "Of course it is."

Lorenz cleared his throat. "Well, just this way then."

Lorenz was perfectly professional; polite, friendly, and firm. He'd clearly made himself familiar with Claude's notes before beginning the session, and was meticulous about checking everything with him. Still, Dimitri couldn't help feeling disappointed, and he realised that his mood must have been obvious when Lorenz's professional persona suddenly softened at the end of their appointment. 

"I must apologise, I know you were hoping to see Claude."

Dimitri startled. "N-no, I—you've been perfectly—"

"It's alright," Lorenz said, laughing softly. "Please don't feel self-conscious. It's been nothing but 'Dimitri this' and 'Dimitri that' around here for weeks."

Dimitri's eyes widened. "You mean he...talks about me?"

"Endlessly," Lorenz said, his eyes sparkling. "But I didn't tell you that, of course."

"O-of course." Dimitri swallowed, and looked down at his hands. "Actually, I—I was hoping to invite him to—my team, we have a match on Saturday. I won't be playing, but I thought—"

Lorenz smiled and tapped the desk with his fingertips. "Leave it with me."

"Oh, um. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Claude von Riegan is a particularly stubborn case." Lorenz turned back to his computer. "Now, going forwards…"

—

Dimitri did his best not to think about his failed attempt to invite Claude to their match, and instead focused on the match itself. He had officially rejoined the roster, and although he wouldn't take part in this match, instead building up gradually to playing once again, Sylvain had demanded that he come back and take the reins. Everyone greeted him like a returning hero, as if he hadn't already watched half their practices from the sidelines, or spent hours every week at the gym with them. Ashe gave him a hug, and Dedue put his arms around both of them, and after that he found himself passed around the whole team like a good luck charm. Even Felix reached out to ruffle his hair. 

"I, uh—I guess I just want to thank you all," Dimitri said, when they'd finally released him. "Thanks for helping me get through this, and thank you to Sylvain for stepping in to captain the team while I was indisposed—"

Cheering followed his words, and Sylvain rose from his seat again to bow. 

"I'm not going to make a speech," Dimitri said, laughing. "Just—go out there and play your best." 

"Alright, King!" Sylvain roared, and Dimitri flushed as the whole team joined in cheering.

"I don't know why you're cheering," he said over their raucous shouting. "I didn't do anything."

Laughter followed, and the team made their way out to the field. Dimitri and Ingrid sat on the bench with their coach and watched as the game began. There were small groups of supporters gathered around the edges of the pitch, mostly friends and family of the players, a few people from other teams in their league. Dimitri looked around briefly, but most of his focus was on the game.

At half time, the team gathered up for a water break and to discuss tactics. Dimitri tried to listen, but after a minute he realised that Ashe was trying to get his attention.

"What is it?" Dimitri whispered. 

Ashe grinned up at him. "Don't look now, but that guy over there, in the grey coat? He's been watching you the whole time."

Instinctively, Dimitri turned to look. He recognised the mop of untidy hair, the slim, elegant figure, and then Claude laughed and raised a hand to wave at him, and Dimitri's stomach rolled over. 

"O-oh."

"Go and talk to him," Ashe said, giving him a friendly shove. 

Dimitri licked his bottom lip nervously. "Y-yes, I—alright. Good luck."

Ashe laughed. "You too."

Dimitri snuck away while everyone else was still preoccupied with Sylvain's pep talk, and walked briskly along the edge of the pitch to where Claude was waiting. Lorenz was with him, as was a very small woman with pink hair tied up in a bun. 

"...Hello," Dimitri said as he approached, all three of them watching him like hawks. 

"Form's looking good," Claude said with a smile. He glanced at Lorenz. "Good to see you didn't entirely ruin my favourite patient."

Lorenz huffed. "I treated him perfectly adequately."

"He did," Dimitri said earnestly. 

Lorenz beamed at him.

"Hey there," the woman said, pushing Claude out of the way and offering Dimitri her hand. "It is _so nice_ to finally meet you. I'm Hilda."

"Oh—nice to meet you," Dimitri said, shaking her hand.

She grinned. "Is there somewhere I can buy a soda?"

"There are vending machines over that way," Dimitri said, gesturing.

"We'll get them," Claude said, grabbing Dimitri's outstretched hand. He wheeled Dimitri around, pointing him in the direction of the club building. "Back in a minute, guys!" 

Lorenz scoffed, and Hilda cackled with laughter, turning Dimitri's ears red. 

"Claude," Dimitri protested, as Claude dragged him along at a merciless pace. "Really, I can go—"

"Don't be silly," Claude said over his shoulder. He glanced back, winking at Dimitri. "Besides, there's something I need to give you."

Dimitri swallowed, but uttered no further protest as Claude dragged him up the steps and into the club building. The building was used by a number of community sports groups, and it smelled like mud and grass and unwashed kit, but Claude didn't seem to mind. As soon as the doors were closed behind them, he pressed Dimitri back against the nearest wall and kissed him, sliding an arm around his neck and pressing Dimitri's hand onto his waist. 

Dimitri made a soft, startled sound into his mouth, but then he slid both arms around Claude and kissed him back soundly. 

"Gods," Claude gasped as they parted, sliding his fingers into Dimitri's hair. "I've been wanting to do that for _weeks_."

"You—you have?"

Claude laughed. "You're too cute." He dropped back onto his heels, and Dimitri realised he'd been standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "Sorry though, for...that. I—actually just came here to ask you out to dinner."

Dimitri blinked. "Dinner?"

"But you looked so good, I couldn't wait."

"Wait?" Dimitri asked, still struggling to catch up. He couldn't stop looking at Claude's mouth.

Claude laughed. "Are you okay? Did I break you?"

Dimitri nodded. "A little bit." He smiled, and slid his hand shyly up Claude's side, biting his lip when he felt the other man shiver. "Do you always kiss people on first dates?"

"Is this a date?" Claude asked, his eyes lighting up. 

"Ah, um—"

"I'd like it to be," Claude said, before Dimitri could tie himself up in knots. "And to answer your question, it depends on the person I'm dating. But, like I said, I've been wanting to kiss you for a while."

Heat rushed to Dimitri's face. "Me too. You probably noticed."

Claude hummed softly, leaning in again. "I noticed all kinds of things."

Dimitri eyes widened. "You—" 

Claude kissed him before he could finish what he'd intended to say, and Dimitri made a faint choking sound when Claude slid one of his very lovely legs between Dimitri's thighs. 

—

The match was almost over by the time they made it back out to the field, rumpled and flushed, with their clothing askew. Lorenz took one look at them and turned away in disgust, while Hilda rolled her eyes and whined that Claude could have at least remembered her soda. Dimitri couldn't stop blushing, but Claude just tucked one of his hands into Dimitri's pocket and held his hand through the final minutes of the match. 

When the final whistle blew, with the Blue Lions leading by just a handful of points, Dimitri took Claude over to introduce him to his teammates, albeit against his better judgement. 

"Something happen to your shirt, King?" Sylvain asked once the introductions had been made, with barely concealed laughter. 

Dimitri looked down at his completely mis-buttoned shirt. "Ah."

"Oops," Claude said, sounding completely insincere.

Felix snorted. "About time."

"Okay, I think we'll be going now," Dimitri said, taking hold of Claude's elbow and steering him away from the group as they erupted into laughter.

"I like your friends," Claude said, leaning into him as they walked away.

Dimitri smiled. "I like yours."

Claude grinned and slid his hand into Dimitri's. "I like you."

"I like you too," Dimitri said, smiling bashfully. "But I can't believe we just had sex in public."

"It wasn't really in public," Claude argued. "Semi-public, if that."

"My friends are never going to let me live it down."

Claude hummed. "Wanna go back to my place and do it lying down?"

"Oh my gods, yes."

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on twitter](https://twitter.com/notallbees/status/1275503066641502210) | [my three houses fic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/works?fandom_id=23985107)


End file.
